Now for a scene that I'm sure will be met with some skepticism.
Chapter 17 – No Trial (Blue Sea Moon)
"As all of you have committed a breach of faith, the archbishop will now pass judgement," Seteth said as he stood before the few surviving raiders of the Holy Mausoleum.
From behind a pillar, Dorothea watched and listened while trying to remain unseen. However, she knew she must have been doing a poor job, as she had gotten a glance earlier from Shamir, the spymaster of the Knights of Seiros. The curvaceous Dagdan woman was unlike any other member of the Knights, as she had no faith in the teachings of Seiros. Dorothea could only speculate on why Shamir was accepted into such a position.
In her usual taciturn tone, Shamir said, "Inciting a Kingdom noble to rebel. Unlawful entry. The attempted assassination of the archbishop. An attack on the Holy Mausoleum. It is unnecessary to go on, followers of the Western Church."
The leader of the remaining intruders exclaimed, "What?! We have nothing to do with the Western Church!"
It was a lie anyone could have seen through.
"You have already been identified," Seteth interrupted. "Please spare us your second-rate theater."
It was then that Rhea finally spoke, and her voice held none of her usual kindness.
"Dishonoring a holy ceremony is worthy of death for a member of the church. You are well past the hope of redemption." Glaring at the intruders, Rhea almost shouted as she said, "If you have any grace remaining, you will willingly offer your life as atonement for this crime!"
In fear for their lives, a second member of the intruders said, "No! This isn't what we were told would happen! We've been deceived!"
"It's no use arguing," said Shamir. "Whatever your excuse, the punishment stands."
"May your souls find peace as they return to the goddess…" Rhea said as she turned away.
Several Church soldiers then stepped forward to lead the captives away. As they did, the first intruder said, "Wait! Please! The goddess would never forgive you for our execution!"
The second one then shouted at Rhea, "Monster! We know you've already slaughtered many of our fellow brethren like this!"
"You condemn all of Fódlan with your actions!" shouted a third one.
Then, as a soldier was about to lead away the fourth one, the intruder surprised everyone as he rushed forward and began channeling holy magic as he charged right at Rhea.
"Burn, you apostate!" shouted the suicidal priest. "My life for the Goddess!"
But just as Shamir and Seteth were about to raise their weapons, Rhea spun around with an exquisitely made sword in her hand. The priest's cry died in his throat as Rhea gracefully ran him through his neck with a single well-placed thrust. She then withdrew the blade as swiftly as she had sent it into the priest and turned away as her victim fell dead to the ground.
"Rhea…" Seteth said uneasily.
"Remove these poor, lost souls from my sight," Rhea said in a tone of calm malice.
The remaining intruders were led away by Shamir and the soldiers. Rhea was accompanied by Seteth as she strode toward her office. But as she was just about to pass through the archway to her office, Rhea turned her gaze to look at Dorothea as the singer peered out from her hiding place.
Dorothea shrunk back immediately, though she knew she had been spotted. Hoping she would not meet the same fate as the priest whose blood was now pooling across the floor of the chamber, Dorothea quickly made her exit.
In her haste to flee, she did not even realize that Byleth had been watching her and Rhea the whole time.
…
Dorothea ran a comb through her hair as she tried to calm down from the day's excitement. Besides Caspar, no one else in the Holy Mausoleum battle had been seriously hurt, and Caspar was expected to make a full recovery within two weeks. The boy even tried bragging about how he would get a big scar when Hilda and Annette had come to visit him, as though nearly dying was an accomplishment. Dorothea just couldn't understand it.
A loud knock on the door broke Dorothea out of her thoughts.
"Dorothea, are you there?" Byleth said loudly as she stood outside the diva's room.
"Professor Byleth?" Dorothea answered as she stood up. "Hold on, I'll open the door."
Dorothea opened her door to see Byleth staring at her with her usual stoic countenance. She had changed into her academy uniform while her battle clothes and overcoat were being mended by Mercedes, who had offered to fix them after her fight with the Death Knight. Dorothea noticed the strange sword Byleth had wielded in the Holy Mausoleum was now strapped to her thigh in an elaborate scabbard.
"Is there something you needed?" asked Dorothea.
"I wanted to have a talk, if that's alright," said Byleth.
"Oh, of course! Please, come in."
Dorothea led Byleth into her room and shut the door behind her, then took a seat on her bed while Byleth pulled up a chair for herself. Byleth made a quick glance about Dorothea's room, which was filled with various bottles of perfumes, makeup, and other beauty products. A book of sheet music was laid out on Dorothea's desk.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Dorothea asked Byleth.
"About what you saw in the second-floor chamber," Byleth answered.
"H-Huh? Were you… watching me?"
"You aren't that hard to spot."
Sheepishly, Dorothea stammered, "Well, I was just curious about what was… I mean, surely everyone else is gonna be told about it sooner or later, right? Ehhehehehe…"
As Dorothea broke out in a cold sweat, Byleth said, "You aren't in any trouble, Dorothea. Rhea told me as much."
Sighing loudly in relief, Dorothea said, "Oh, thank goodness. After I saw what she did to that man, I thought I was in hot water. Anyhow, I didn't know Rhea could move like that. I thought she was just a figurehead or something, but that was incredible! And…"
"And…?"
"And, well… I never knew Rhea could be that… coldhearted. I mean, she killed that priest without blinking an eye, and the others from the Western Church…"
It was at this moment that Dorothea's mood became gloomy. All of the remaining intruders from the Western Church had been swiftly executed following Rhea's judgement. The thought brought back bad memories for the diva.
"Is something wrong?" asked Byleth.
Taking a deep breath, Dorothea asked, "Professor… Do you agree with the archbishop's actions?"
"What do you mean?"
"She ordered those priests to be executed without giving them any sort of fair trial. Granted, it probably would have ended the same way, but still, didn't they at least have the right to one? What gives Rhea the right to just order someone's death, no questions asked, without giving them a chance to say their peace?"
It was then that Dorothea thought she had made a terrible mistake.
"I-I'm sorry, I–"
"Don't apologize, Dorothea," Byleth interrupted. "But to answer your question, I agree with you. Even if they were guilty, those men deserved a chance to explain their actions, and Rhea didn't give it to them."
The two were silent for a moment as they sat. Outside the room, they could still hear the faint chatter of students and soldiers, who obviously had their own thoughts on what had transpired.
Breaking up the silence, Dorothea said, "It reminds me of things back in Enbarr."
"It does?"
"Yeah. I wasn't always an opera star, you know, before I got here. Before I found myself on the stage, I was a simple orphan on the streets just trying to survive from day to day. And there were a lot of others like me, doing whatever we had to just to stay alive. Sometimes, that meant stealing or doing other things that weren't within the law. And if you ever got caught, you'd either lose your hand or be sent straight to the gallows. People would flock go to those places every day just to watch a daily punishment, all because a beggar got hungry or went someplace where they shouldn't have. And no matter how they protested, no matter how much they tried to explain themselves… if they were trying to feed their children, or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the result was always the same."
"That's terrible…" said Byleth.
"And yet whenever someone from the nobility did those things, they were always the ones given the chance to come up with an excuse or allowed to have leeway because of their standing. And whenever I saw that happening, I thought… 'How is that fair?' Why should we not get the chance to tell everyone why we did these things, but those in power do? How come the laws only benefit those in power? How come they don't have to pay for any of their crimes while those in the streets and alleys have to suffer and die just because they were starving?!"
It took a moment before Dorothea realized she had almost been shouting, and that she had stood herself up in her indignation. Realizing how loud she had been, Dorothea stammered a bit as she looked at Byleth, who continued her stoic stare.
"I… I'm sorry, Professor…" Dorothea said as she slumped back onto her bed. "I didn't mean to rant on like that…"
Dorothea couldn't find anything else to say, and so she buried her face in her hands. She just hoped no one had overheard what she was saying.
"It isn't fair," said Byleth, prompting Dorothea to look up at her.
"Professor?"
"They deserve better than that. Noble or commoner, everyone should be allowed an equal chance to let their reasons be heard."
Dorothea paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "I'm glad to hear you say that, Professor."
Byleth nodded at this.
Then, Dorothea asked, "Oh, on another topic, that knight in the Holy Mausoleum called you something. What was it… oh, yes, the 'Ashen Demon'? What was that about?"
Dorothea was then a bit surprised to see Byleth's expression change from her usual stoicism to an unhappy frown. It wasn't one of anger or sadness, but more like disappointment.
"That… was what other mercenaries would call me. The Ashen Demon. It's… not something I like being called."
"No? Why?"
Byleth did not answer this, and instead turned her gaze away from Dorothea's.
"Sorry, Professor. I suppose that's a bit personal."
Again, there was silence was between the two. Dorothea's eyes wandered back to the mysterious sword on Byleth's hip.
"So, they let you keep that thing?" asked Dorothea.
"They did. It's called the Sword of the Creator."
"The Sword of the Creator? I'm no expert on Hero's Relics, but I've never heard of that one."
"It's supposed to have been the weapon of the King of Liberation, Nemesis. According to Rhea, no one else but he could wield it."
"But… it reacted to you… Does that mean you're descended from him?"
"I'm not sure."
"That's really strange…"
At this moment, Dorothea's eyes widened as she remembered something.
"Oh, I almost forgot again!" Dorothea said in a peppier tone. "I got you something for your birthday!"
Springing off her bed, Dorothea went to a set of shelves at the back of her room and pulled one open. She then removed the silver locket from it, which still ticked silently.
"I got this from Anna's shop. She calls it a pocket watch. It'll help you tell the time of day." Dorothea opened the locket to show the clock to Byleth as she added, "Given how busy you are these days, maybe it'll come in handy."
Byleth looked at the strange device and gently took it into her hands. It didn't take long for her to see how it worked, and immediately her head began filling with ideas on how it could be used.
"Well…?" Dorothea asked gingerly.
"It's… Thank you, Dorothea. I'll put this to good use."
Just as Dorothea was about to say something else, the familiar academy bell began to ring.
Dum… Dum dun dun… Dom…
The sound prompted the two to look at the watch. The small hand was pointed downward and to the left, while the other two were pointed straight up.
"I guess that means it's getting late," said Byleth as she looked out at Dorothea's window to see the sun was starting to set.
"Oh, you're right," Dorothea said as she saw the setting sun as well. "We'd better get to the dining hall before we're missed."
With that, the two women left Dorothea's room to head for dinner, while Sothis floated invisibly near Byleth.
"Happy birthday, my friend," said the green-haired girl.
One thing about Dorothea is that she's really passionate, something that I want to capture in this story. She's not afraid to speak her mind (though she may fear the consequences), she tends to think more with her heart rather than her head, and that's part of her charm, IMO. That said, maybe I'm being heavy-handed again.